Walkers welcome brave proposals for coastal access
[21 February 2007]
The Ramblers’ Association (RA) today (21 February 2007)
welcomed Natural England’s wide-ranging proposals for improving
access to the English coast but questions the wisdom of relying
on local authorities to make it a reality.
The proposals give a central role to local authorities to
deliver the new access on the ground but many local authorities
have a poor record on ensuring footpaths are unobstructed even
though it is their legal duty. The national walking charity
fears that a reliance on local authorities will result in
inconsistent improvements which could take decades to secure.
Also at the heart of Natural England’s recommendations is a
coastal corridor that will enable the general public to walk in
a continuous line all the way round the coast, an impossible
feat at present. Currently access to the coast is patchy at best
and many walking routes are diverted inland either because of
coastal erosion or development.
Natural England is advising the government to introduce
legislation to make the new access a reality. The RA believes
that anything short of national legislation would merely be a
continuation of the present situation whereby the availability
and quality of access along the coast is variable.
Kate Ashbrook, chairman, RA said: “The recommendations are
encouraging and will go a long way to providing public benefit
but legislation is essential for ensuring that this generation
can for the first time walk around the English coast without
impediment”.
The RA, the national walking charity, wants the new coastal
corridor to be broad and to include provisions for the
protection of privacy and the enhancement of biodiversity. The
access rights should also be flexible and capable of being
realigned with erosion.